Orrville Area Boys and Girls Club
For more than 50 years, the Orrville Area Boys and Girls Club (OABGC) has been serving children and teens in Orrville and surrounding areas.
Children need to have a place where they are physically and emotionally safe. That’s just what the OABGC provides. In addition to providing a caring environment, they offer daily access to a broad range of programs that promote the education, health, social character, service, and leadership.
The five core programs offered by OABGC are Power Hour, Triple Play, Smart Girls and Passport to Manhood, Torch Club, and Trauma Informed Care. These programs provide homework assistance, focus on mental and physical wellness, character, leadership, and suicide prevention.
“OABGC currently offers nine sports and will be adding golf this spring,” said Josh Nolan. “In the evenings and weekends, the club is always busy with youth sports. We utilize many of the area gyms and fields to accommodate the athletic contests. We serve 26 zip codes through our sports program.”
Nolan came back to his hometown of Orrville to serve as the Executive Director of the OABGC in 2020. Having been a club kid himself, he knows firsthand the value of the programs offered.
“When I came back to Orrville, the club was serving primarily younger kids. In November 2021, we reintroduced the teen program. We now serve 265 kids daily through our before and after school program and even more through our sports programs.”
Nolan is part of a Boys and Girls Club legacy. “Many former club kids are now serving in leadership roles at various Boys and Girls Clubs across the County. It’s a great way to give back to a program that gave us so much during our youth,” Nolan reflected.
The OABGC works with local agency to meet the needs of the club kids. For example, they partner with Chrysalis Family Solutions to provide mental health training for the staff. The Salvation Army, Camp Nuhop, YMCA, and Ohio State extension campus, in addition to many others, have partnered with the club to support the kids.
Volunteers are always needed at the club. Whether it’s helping with a project, referring, coaching, setting up or tearing down the club relies heavily on volunteers. “You don’t have to know much about a particular sport to volunteer. We provide training and there’s something for everyone to do,” Nolan said.
March 25th will be the club’s annual auction. This event is in its 32nd year and typically raises anywhere from 13-15% of the club’s budget. This year’s theme will be Nashville. More information to come in the following weeks.
For more information on how to volunteer and/or give to the Orrville Area Boys and Girls Club, visit
www.oabgc.org.
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